The industry pages for Catawba County, NC businesses, how they are grouped, why manufacturing and furniture plants lead, and which trades are covered here rather than on a page of their own.
Manufacturing: The Largest Catawba County, NC Payroll Sector, Including Furniture Makers
Manufacturing had the largest annual payroll of any sector in Catawba County, NC in 2023, $1.31 billion, and the most paid employees, 23,193, from 357 employer establishments (County Business Patterns 2023). By our arithmetic that is 28.9% of the county's total employer payroll of $4.5 billion. Household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing alone had 79 establishments and 8,215 employees.
That is why machine shops and construction sit at the front of the industry list, and why equipment financing leads the site.
Retail, Restaurant and Construction Pages With Catawba County, NC Counts
Retail trade had 687 employer establishments in 2023, the most of any sector in the county, with 10,322 employees. Restaurants and other eating places had 328 and construction 412 (CBP 2023). The retail page, the restaurant page and the construction page each use the county figures for that trade, labeled with the code, the geography and the year. Grocery stores, coffee shops and gas stations follow the same pattern.
Health Care Pages: Physicians, Dentists and Chiropractic Clinics
Health care and social assistance had the county's second-largest payroll in 2023, $648.7 million (CBP 2023). Offices of physicians had 75 establishments, offices of dentists 68, and offices of other health practitioners, which include chiropractors and therapists, 67. Each has a page: medical practices, dental offices and chiropractic and therapy clinics. Insurance timing, imaging equipment and practice purchases are the recurring themes.
Gyms, Hotels and Child Care: Covered in This Hub Below the Page Threshold
Fitness and recreational sports centers had 17 employer establishments in Catawba County, NC in 2023, traveler accommodation (hotels, motels, inns and similar lodging) 20, and child day care services 22 (CBP 2023). Each is below the 25-establishment threshold this site uses for a page of its own, so they are covered here.
Gym equipment is on the equipment financing page. A hotel or child care center can use the same funding types as any business: term loans for renovations and working capital for payroll. Hotel renovation requests are business funding, not mortgages on the property.
Furniture and Upholstery Shops: Why They Sit Under the Machine Shop Page
Furniture and upholstery plants are Hickory's signature trade. Their machines are covered on the machine shop page, their stock on the inventory financing page, and a full CNC purchase in the article on funding a new CNC line. Upholstered household furniture manufacturing had 58 establishments in the county in 2023 (CBP 2023). A furniture plant can pair a machine with the materials to run it: a CNC router or edgebander on equipment financing, and fabric, foam and lumber on a line of credit or inventory financing.
Where the Industry Counts on These Pages Come From
Every count on these pages comes from the U.S. Census Bureau: County Business Patterns 2023 for employer establishments, employees and payroll; ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 for ZIP figures; and Nonemployer Statistics 2024 for businesses without paid employees. The two programs are never added together. County figures are labeled Catawba County, NC, since Hickory reaches into three counties; the Hickory, NC page explains the labels.
By Bluepeak Lending Group · Updated
